by Academician Yuri GULYAEV, Director of the RAS Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics; Professor Eduard GODIK, consultant, R&D Center of Biomedical Radioelectronics of the same Institute

Human organism represents a unique self-regulating system with a broad range of adaptation to changes in its internal and external environment. Maintaining its normal functioning is really a "tall order" which calls for a whole range of ways and means of reaching this goal. Most of what we call modern medical technologies provide for a radical "repair and replacement of parts" of a patient. And this approach is really warranted in extreme or emergency cases when external intervention into human organism is really a must. But in preventive medicine and the treatment of chronic conditions this approach is not only difficult to apply, but turns out to be ineffective and even harmful as often as not. This being so, it is necessary to develop what we call methods of interactive data management (initialization) of the organism's adaptive resources, its system of stability.

Regrettably, one has to admit that what we call fundamental science, which is widely used in "emergency" medicine, pays but little attention to this systematic and comprehensive approach. And this is despite the growing demands for preventive medicine with people learning from their experience the flawed nature of the predominant current view that-"pathology must develop for the treatment to begin". As a result we see mounting public interest to the alternative-"folk" cures. Of the greatest interest in this respect are the oriental cures (like acupunctures, etc.) based upon some very weak impacts upon the patient which cannot produce any structural or energetic improvements. These are but stimuli which can trigger off body defenses. But in order to achieve the expected result they should be "custom-fitted" to the patient's organism in time, spatial orientation and amplitude. What it amounts to is finding the "code number" to the patient's body "lock". This has been done for ages by oriental folk medics who inherited their skills from generation to generation. But for these skills to be used in present-day medical practice they have to be studied in detail, identifying the specific signs (temporal, spatial and amplitudal) of the initiating signals; the principles of their formation; to study the physical, chemical and biological mechanisms of the acceptance of these signals; to develop methods and equipment for individual monitoring of body responses; to develop a model of systemic body stability as the basis for objective diagnostics. What we are dealing with, in fact, is the development of science-intensive techniques of preventive

Articles in this rubric reflect the opinion of the authors. - Ed.

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medicine which would reduce down to the minimum the need of using emergency therapies.

A project of this magnitude would prove the necessary basis for the development of preventive medicine and, naturally enough, it can be implemented only by the combined efforts of the international scientific community. In our own view this should be initiated by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Medical Academy. Russian researchers have a traditional reputation for the development of what are called fundamental systemic approaches and the key to success is their mentality, broad thinking and interdisciplinary contacts, especially within the aforesaid academies.

Work along these lines is already in progress in our academic centers. Some unique experience has been accumulated in studies of the extreme adaptive potential of the human organism from data of prolonged manned space missions ** (Institute of Medico-Biological Problems); our specialists have studied what they call functional diagrams of physical fields and body radiation in different normal and pathological conditions* (RAS Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics); they have developed a theory of stability of complex systems and have been modelling processes of self-organization of biological systems *** (RAS Institute of Applied Mathematics

named after M. Keldysh). Studies have been conducted of the effects of interaction of super-small doses or biochemical preparations (RAS Institute of Biochemical Physics); our scientists have identified the intra-cellular mechanisms of the impacts of super-weak physical signals (RAS Institute of Biophysics of the Cell); an autodiag- nostic system has been identified in the brain which scans the state of the inner organs during sleep (RAS Institute of Problems of Information Transfer); a model has been developed of the auto-diagnostic system in the spinal cord which makes it possible to understand the principle of acupuncture (RAS Institute of Physics named after P. Le- bedev, RAS Institute of Radioelectronics and Electronics), etc.

Today more than 20 academic institutes are engaged in R&D activities on medical instruments and equipment matching world standards. One such example are our optical tomographs and multi-channel radiothermographs to mention but a few.

The project provides for an active participation of natural scientists: physicists, mathematicians, chemists, biologists, etc. They can, and should, "pack up" within the "framework" of a modern theory the large volume of the accumulated data on the functioning of the human organism. This work is promoted by the accumulated traditions and experience amassed by our physiological and medical science, such as the theory of functional body systems * developed at the Institute of Normal Physiology named after P. Anokhin of the Russian Medical Academy. In the course of the implementation of the project experts should be able to develop methods of control of health resources (its diagnostics and stimulation) and a new generation of medical equipment: monitors and stimulators to be worn next to the skin and also instruments for domestic control. These should be as convenient and necessary for personal use as a watch or a table mirror. This is dictated by the fact that preventive medicine should become part and parcel of its user.

For project coordination it is necessary to set up a scientific council on "Systemic Stability of Human Organism" under the RAS Presidium and an international consultative council with the participation of the leading Western countries and also those with age-long traditions of folk medicine (China, India, Vietnam, etc.).